Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1197 - 1193: Origins

He expected Chu Zhiyuan to strike right away, smashing a statue to display his dominance and strike fear into these tributes.

These tributes served in rotations, usually lingering for a full decade.

However, certain tributes stayed here forever, refusing to ever depart.

To them, all authority and prestige held no value; their only obsession was the Undying Evil Venerable.

They had long been holding back the Undying Evil Venerable, locked in endless combat with it.

Chu Zhiyuan meant nothing to them personally.

Yet destroying the Undying Evil Venerable would completely alter their stance toward him.

He couldn't grasp the reason for Chu Zhiyuan's reluctance.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, stating, "These statues aren't simple to shatter."

"Why?" Huang Zhengyang pressed urgently, "They're nothing but pests requiring suppression, massive headaches that ought to be obliterated to end the issue once and for all."

Chu Zhiyuan replied, "These statues link together into a formation, don't they?"

He shifted his eyes toward the gray-robed elder: "Elder Guan, these statues seal some strange entity deep in the abyss below, isn't that right?"

The elder set aside his hoe, eyed Chu Zhiyuan appraisingly, and nodded: "Step inside and sit so we can discuss it."

Huang Zhengyang was stunned: "Elder Guan, doesn't the Evil Suppressing Abyss contain these Undying Evil Venerable statues?"

This turned his assumptions upside down.

"You're a fool if you think you'll become Director?" Guan Zhengying scoffed: "What kind of fantasies are you chasing!"

Huang Zhengyang glanced over at Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan remarked, "Harnessing the unbreakable quality of the Undying Evil Venerable statues to contain some entity is truly a brilliant strategy."

Huang Zhengyang furrowed his brow: "What sort of entity? Something surpassing the Undying Evil Venerable in strength?"

"Now you sound like a Director..."

Guan Zhengying stepped to the vegetable patch's edge, stooped to grab a stone, cleaned his shoe bottom, and shook his head repeatedly.

Chu Zhiyuan eyed Huang Zhengyang.

Huang Zhengyang creased his forehead, lost in contemplation.

He had never faced a mightier force in this realm, nor learned of one.

The Evil Extermination Department tackled demonic evils born from otherworldly dark forces.

Among those alien powers, the Undying Evil Venerable stood as the supreme terror.

Immortal and unbreakable, an utter nightmare to handle.

Guan Zhengying replaced the pebble, rose, dusted his palms, approached the stone table near the well, took a seat, rubbed his fingers, and ignited the Red Mud Furnace to brew tea.

As he arranged the tea bowls, he hummed, "You've been swamped all day as Director, eh?"

Huang Zhengyang answered, "Yes, Zhou Sizheng prioritizes cultivation; I manage every little detail."

"No chance to study the past directors' records?"

"I glanced through some."

"Just the recent ones, skipping the ancient texts, correct?"

"...Yes, they're ancient relics with little practical value."

The old directors' logs often detailed extinct demons, sounding mythical and godlike.

Such demons rarely surfaced, so wasting time on them seemed pointless.

That effort was better spent honing martial skills to boost realm and insight.

Guan Zhengying beckoned them to join him at the table, humming: "This Evil Suppressing Abyss dates back a hundred thousand years."

"A hundred thousand years..." Huang Zhengyang marveled aloud.

Guan Zhengying hummed: "The thing inside the abyss has lurked there since that ancient era."

Huang Zhengyang inquired: "What exactly is it?"

"No clue." Guan Zhengying shook his head: "If you laid eyes on it, you wouldn't see me here today."

Huang Zhengyang scowled, mulling over what monstrous evil from a hundred thousand years past wielded such overwhelming might.

But no answers surfaced in his thoughts.

He looked toward Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan was clueless too, shaking his head: "I can faintly detect its presence, yet have no idea what it truly is."

"You sense it?" Guan Zhengying probed.

Chu Zhiyuan affirmed with a nod, "It lurks beneath the water, shifting locations nonstop."

Guan Zhengying asked swiftly, "Can you lock down its precise spot?"

"It shifts too rapidly; pinpointing it proves impossible." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

Guan Zhengying's eyes sparkled with keen interest.

Huang Zhengyang declared, "Elder Guan, Brother Chu's perception is incredibly acute, eclipsing his cultivation level and outstripping ours by far."

Guan Zhengying drummed his index finger lightly on the table, musing, "Locating its position exactly would prove immensely valuable."

"Valuable how?" Huang Zhengyang demanded eagerly.

Guan Zhengying explained, "Its terror stems partly from raw strength, but chiefly from slipperiness; in this vast domain, how does one even track it?"

Huang Zhengyang's mood soared, "Can we suppress it now?"

Guan Zhengying replied, "Over these countless millennia, we haven't slacked, always hunting for ways."

"What ways?" Huang Zhengyang urged.

Guan Zhengying continued, "Various approaches... treasures, hidden arts, formations—all weighed and prepared, yet opportunities never arose."

Huang Zhengyang faced Chu Zhiyuan: "Brother Chu, can you track it down?"

Chu Zhiyuan contemplated silently.

Guan Zhengying added, "The thirty-six Undying Evil Venerable statues form a basic sealing array now, but it could evolve into an offensive one."

Chu Zhiyuan cautioned, "Elder Guan, it's wiser to leave the array untouched for the moment."

Guan Zhengying agreed with a nod, "Of course... here, tea time."

He lifted the Red Mud Furnace; Huang Zhengyang hurried to take it, filling three cups to the brim.

Chu Zhiyuan observed, "This entity's velocity is astounding; nailing its location is exceedingly tough... it roams ceaselessly, always in motion, utterly bizarre."

Not even a fish swims without cease; it rests at times.

Yet this thing's position drifts endlessly, transforming without halt.

Guan Zhengying knitted his brows, "It never rests? Surely it must pause occasionally."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "From the moment I arrived, its position has shifted without break."

Huang Zhengyang declared, "This freakish creature intrigues me; I want a glimpse... I'll return and scour the directors' notes to identify it."

Guan Zhengying slid a tea cup toward Chu Zhiyuan, "We'll head out shortly for a closer inspection."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded faintly and accepted the cup.

After draining their tea, Guan Zhengying led Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Zhengyang from the courtyard.

He approached a neighboring yard, rapped on the gate: "Old Hu, Old Hu!"

"What do you want!" A grumpy voice bellowed from within.

Guan Zhengying shoved the door open and waved them in.

Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Zhengyang trailed him inside.

The yard lay in disarray, cluttered with diverse stone carvings of beasts.

Chu Zhiyuan scanned them, sensing a vital spirit infused in each statue.

Curiosity drew his gaze to the elder before a peculiar White Jade beast statue.

The elder sported snowy brows and beard, hair spiked like lances, eyes flashing like bolts.

Unlike the plain Guan Zhengying, he exuded sharp presence, akin to a drawn divine blade.

He lifted his head, swept a frosty, piercing look over Chu Zhiyuan and the rest, snorted, "Xiaohuang, back again to stir up chaos?"

Huang Zhengyang grinned, "Elder Hu, the fellow next to me is Chu Zhiyuan of Heavenly Sword Sect, who can shatter Undying Evil Venerable statues and slay the Undying Evil Venerable."

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his hands: "Greetings, Elder Hu."

The elder snorted, "You claim you can destroy Undying Evil Venerable statues?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

The elder dismissed it with a headshake, "Impossible—they're indestructible, imbued with the Undying Evil Venerable's eternal essence."

Chu Zhiyuan offered a subtle smile, unsheathing his sword.

The Golden Sword drifted leisurely toward the elder.

The elder merely eyed the Golden Sword, his face shifting: "Undying Golden Essence!"

Chu Zhiyuan mused that he knew the source of the Golden Sword's golden dust.

Aware of its roots, he probably grasped its traits and could adapt accordingly.

The elder straightened up, scrutinizing the Golden Sword intently, then nodded, "Fascinating indeed!"

Chu Zhiyuan noted he refrained from touching the Golden Sword, proving true recognition of its worth.

The clueless, upon grasping it, would feel its thousand-jin heft, impossible to wield.

Unless deliberately lightened by its owner.